The Yearling

In an enchanted garden, hidden beyond the scope of imagination, lives a single flower with a very special job. This flower is known as the yearling. It is her job to bring about the change of the seasons. She begins her life with the New Year as a fragile little bud poking out of a blanket of snow, the only sign of life for as far as the eye can see. As the days come and go she grows stronger and taller, and when finally when the last of the snows melt away, she unfolds her beautiful petals in proud salute to her friend the sun. Together they breathe fresh life into the thawing earth. All of the small creatures wake and the bird’s songs fill the air once again. The days continue on and the little flower begins to change. Her beautiful petals become soft and fuzzy. One day a soft breeze carries them away. The warm sun and the spring showers plant her seeds the whole world over. All around her are beautiful blooms and lush green foliage. She is all but hidden in the vast beauty of the world around her until one day the sun begins to sink in the sky and the nights grow crisp and cold. The colors change form bright purples and pinks to the oranges and reds of fall, but still she stands tall on her sturdy stem watching over her garden. As the nights grow colder and the leaves once bright and beautiful begin to dry and return to the earth, she too begins to bend. Her once strong stem weakens and she feels old and tired. The first snows begin to fall, and soon they will cover her completely, but she will still be there. She is always there. As the world around her celebrates the end of a year, the days grow short and the nights long and cold. The animals and the birds are no longer seen or heard, and a blanket of silvery snow covers her once beautiful garden. All is still and quiet, but in the morning when the first rays of sun peak out she awakens and pushes her way through the cold, cold snow until she can feel his warmth. She is new, and it is time to begin again.